[HN Gopher] Death by Coconut
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       Death by Coconut
        
       Author : brudgers
       Score  : 43 points
       Date   : 2021-12-21 04:34 UTC (18 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (en.wikipedia.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (en.wikipedia.org)
        
       | jawmes9 wrote:
       | I was taught to always look up when you are under coconut trees
        
       | martingoodson wrote:
       | I met a coconut picker in Cuba who had survived a coconut falling
       | onto his head. It landed rounded-part down, rather than pointed-
       | part down: doctors thought that was probably why he survived.
       | 
       | He told me his vision temporarily went completely red after the
       | impact. Probably from hyphema, or blood in the eyes.
        
       | thorin wrote:
       | One of Roald Dahl's adult stories featured this, surprised it's
       | not mentioned on the wiki.
        
       | 1-6 wrote:
       | Sorta like fan deaths in South Korea:
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death
        
         | bagels wrote:
         | Doesn't seem similar at all as there is no reliable evidence of
         | fan death being real.
        
       | selimthegrim wrote:
       | In Louisiana, the state legislature (SB188 in 1988) indemnified
       | injury by coconut to protect the Zulu krewe tradition of throwing
       | coconuts at parade goers on Mardi Gras. Surprised that isn't
       | mentioned in the legal section.
        
       | umvi wrote:
       | > Concern about the risk of fatality due to falling coconuts led
       | local officials in Queensland, Australia, to remove coconut trees
       | from beaches in 2002
       | 
       | This kind of policy making is like the complete opposite of going
       | for the low hanging fruit (figuratively and literally)...
        
         | kerneloftruth wrote:
         | Given Australia's response to Covid, this kind of policy-making
         | is no surprise, at all. Sad, but not a surprise.
        
       | throwbynight38 wrote:
       | Murder by Coconut. Who would have thought?
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalaikoothal
        
       | yongjik wrote:
       | I love the warning sign - the tree looks positively malicious.
       | Look how it's hurling coconuts at fleeing humans!
        
       | trasz wrote:
       | Also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unusual_deaths
        
       | dougSF70 wrote:
       | Per capita, Sri Lanka is a dangerous place for Death-by-Coconut.
        
       | wellthisisgreat wrote:
       | Wow apparently you only need to drink 2.5L of coconut water to
       | get hospitalized or die (if you aren't hospitalized). I love the
       | beverage and could easily drink that, especially during exercise
       | (which is also the worst time to drink it).
        
       | c_o_n_v_e_x wrote:
       | Coconuts were removed in certain areas around Mumbai before Obama
       | visited
       | 
       | https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-11684382
        
       | hristov wrote:
       | It seems a lot of these death by coconut stories are stories of
       | animal abuse and subsequent revenge. Don't f#ck with a monkey.
        
       | stef25 wrote:
       | One time I was watching a ceremony on a stage in Mali, sitting
       | outdoors among coconut trees and every now and then one came
       | crashing down hitting the floor with an almighty crunch.
       | Foreigners laughed nervously. No doubt if that hits on the head
       | you're dead. Couldn't wait to get the hell out of there.
        
       | dominotw wrote:
       | > monkey used to harvest coconuts from trees
       | 
       | there is no limit to human depravity.
        
       | sdoering wrote:
       | My uncle once told me the story of how he learned not to ignore
       | these signs. He survived a coconut hitting his head while he was
       | relaxing in the half shade provided by the palm.
       | 
       | The locals referred to him as the man with the head stronger than
       | a coconut. But he was really lucky, that the coconut had not hung
       | higher up.
       | 
       | When retelling the story he really always emphasized how damn
       | lucky he was to have survived this.
        
       | netule wrote:
       | Reminds me of the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus, who was
       | purportedly killed by having a turtle shell dropped on his head
       | by a vulture who mistook his bald head for a rock.
       | 
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeschylus
        
         | major505 wrote:
         | well, if you gonna die in a stupid way, it might as well be in
         | a way that have people thinking how the hell that happened.
        
       | major505 wrote:
       | In Brazil you have to be carefull with coconuts and Jackfruit.
       | 
       | I grew up with a Jackfruit tree in my backyard. Damn thuig almost
       | killed my mom's Chihuahua.
        
         | selimthegrim wrote:
         | In the Indian subcontinent, the equivalent statement to "Don't
         | count your chickens before the eggs have hatched" is "The
         | jackfruit's still in the tree, don't oil your lips just yet"
         | since the jackfruit exterior is obviously sticky when you cut
         | it
        
         | lapetitejort wrote:
         | For those unaware, jackfruits are huge. They're usually sold in
         | quarters or eighths in US supermarkets. That's already plenty
         | of jackfruit. Then you have to pick out the egg-sized seeds,
         | which has the feeling of performing a C-section. Afterwards,
         | the meat is mild and tasty.
        
       | croo wrote:
       | This reads like something straight from hitchhiker's guide. I had
       | to check the citations to make sure this is not a great troll
       | page. It even includes a whale death by coconut! I'm at a loss of
       | words that this wiki page exist in such detail.
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | athenot wrote:
       | For those curious about how to code this in ICD-10:
       | W20.8XXA Morbidity from strike by thrown, projected or falling
       | inanimate object, initial encounter.
       | 
       | And probably associated with this place of encounter:
       | Y92.832  Beach as the place of occurrence of the external cause.
        
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       (page generated 2021-12-21 23:00 UTC)